Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Buffalo Springs 70.3 race report
Buffalo Springs has come and gone but the pain in my thighs still remains. Its 3 days later and the legs are still tender to the touch. I did a session on the foam roller last night that was quite painful. However, it was definitely worth it!!!!
The trip to lubbock started friday with a short ride to G'town to drop off carson at grannys. That night we went to movies and had a few good laughs watching Knocked Up. I give it 2 thumbs up!!! Jamie arrived sat morning at 5:30am and we were on the road by 6am. The ride was about 5.5hrs drive time not including a few stops to deposit all the fluids we were taking in. Once we got to lubbock we got our packets, browsed the race expo, and then drove the bike course. Sat night was a simple dinner of brown rice, sweet tators and zucchini.
Sunday morning came early and we were up by 3:45am. i took a quick shower and had my usual blueberry bagel with PB, granola, honey and banana. Between sat night and sun morning i also made sure to drink plenty of water with nuun tabs. We arrived at the race by close to 5am and proceeded to get setup. the race started at 6:30am so time flew by.
The trip to lubbock started friday with a short ride to G'town to drop off carson at grannys. That night we went to movies and had a few good laughs watching Knocked Up. I give it 2 thumbs up!!! Jamie arrived sat morning at 5:30am and we were on the road by 6am. The ride was about 5.5hrs drive time not including a few stops to deposit all the fluids we were taking in. Once we got to lubbock we got our packets, browsed the race expo, and then drove the bike course. Sat night was a simple dinner of brown rice, sweet tators and zucchini.
Sunday morning came early and we were up by 3:45am. i took a quick shower and had my usual blueberry bagel with PB, granola, honey and banana. Between sat night and sun morning i also made sure to drink plenty of water with nuun tabs. We arrived at the race by close to 5am and proceeded to get setup. the race started at 6:30am so time flew by.
I decided last second to go w/o the wetsuit due to the watertemp being 77 and my suit being thick. I also should have gone without the tri top but that didnt happen.once my wave went i was battling my top from the beginning. the zipper came down several times so i had to stop each time to zip up. the top was also catching water which felt like dead weight. i felt good with the stroke but i knew i was going slow when the wave behind me (5min behind) caught me with another 500m to go. total swim time was 33min. no issues with transition 1.
The bike almost started bad. i couldnt get one of my feet in the shoe as i hit the 1st hill so i nearly fell over. luckily at the last second i got it in and got going. the first hill was steep so i took it in my easiest gear. it was still tough. once out of the park i settled in and got a good rythm going. the course was mostly flat until we had to go in and out of the canyons several times on the out and backs. the weather was nice and the wind wasnt bad so i made a strong attempt to push the bike. i was a bit hesitant on the downhills b/c i dont like a lot of speed but i made up for it by pushing the hills. thought about a bike pee on the way back into the park but i optd to wait until trans2. once entered the park things got interesting. i first passed natasha badmann running (she was cruising), i almost hit a rattlesnake or copperhead, and my calves cramped on the last hill. once i rolled and trans2 it was nice to hear some cheers. total bike was 2:40. nutrition on the bike went according to plan with a double load of infiniti, 4 gels chased by lots of water, and lots of salt tabs. trans 2 was a little slow b/c i applied sunscreen, hit the potty, and had to come back for my gels.
the run was the x factor. with a total of 3 runs for 10miles in the month leading up to the race it was going to be a potential disaster. i have had some knee and IT band issues with the right leg so i just wanted to get out there and react to the feeling. right from the start the knee was sore but no bad. i had a good pace but i was taking short, soft steps. the first 3 miles took about 23min so i was feeling good. shortly after that i turned the corner and hit the first big hill. it was the beginning of a rough run. i then hit another big down and back up hill before hitting the energy lab. the lab is a 2mile stretch of road where you bake in the sun as you watch runners fade in the distance and you see the heat coming off the pavement. after about 2miles of this you turnaround and run back. its a tough stretch but for strong runners i would say its the best spot to make a move. after that is another down and up on a big hill and then down another big one. by mile 8-9 my feet were toast in my flats. memo to self - no flats in runs over 10k. i had some wicked blisters by the end. i struggled the last 2-3 miles and feel i dropped the pace by close to a min. my 1st half of the run was a 8:02 pace and the 2nd half was 8:40. total run split was 1:49. i feel i nailed my run nutrition by taking in 3 watered-down carb boom apple/cinamon gels (i had vanilla on the biked), salt tabs, and lots of water at the aid stations.
the run was the x factor. with a total of 3 runs for 10miles in the month leading up to the race it was going to be a potential disaster. i have had some knee and IT band issues with the right leg so i just wanted to get out there and react to the feeling. right from the start the knee was sore but no bad. i had a good pace but i was taking short, soft steps. the first 3 miles took about 23min so i was feeling good. shortly after that i turned the corner and hit the first big hill. it was the beginning of a rough run. i then hit another big down and back up hill before hitting the energy lab. the lab is a 2mile stretch of road where you bake in the sun as you watch runners fade in the distance and you see the heat coming off the pavement. after about 2miles of this you turnaround and run back. its a tough stretch but for strong runners i would say its the best spot to make a move. after that is another down and up on a big hill and then down another big one. by mile 8-9 my feet were toast in my flats. memo to self - no flats in runs over 10k. i had some wicked blisters by the end. i struggled the last 2-3 miles and feel i dropped the pace by close to a min. my 1st half of the run was a 8:02 pace and the 2nd half was 8:40. total run split was 1:49. i feel i nailed my run nutrition by taking in 3 watered-down carb boom apple/cinamon gels (i had vanilla on the biked), salt tabs, and lots of water at the aid stations.
i finished with a 5:08 time and was overall pleased with the race. it was tough and with my limited run training i dont think i could have done much better (maybe a little with better shoes). it was the toughest course i have done and i look forward to another shot at it. sunday night we celebrated at a friend's bar in town. we had some burgers and fries and put down some cold beer and shots. such the happy ending to a great day. monday morning we hit the road and made it back to Gtown by noon. the highlight on monday was seeing carson. we missed our boo boo chicken!!!!!!!!!
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